Due to diminishing quantities of coal, petroleum, and natural gas products, attention is being directed to other energy sources, including oil shale, solar energy, and nuclear energy. One source receiving considerable attention is forest biomass materials such as wood, plants grown in conjunction with trees, and wood byproducts. Forest biomass may include any type of biomass produced by forest growth such as dead trees, non-merchantable trees, branches, understory, tree stumps, interplanted crops, other plants grown with trees, clippings, logging residue, stems, wood chips, or other similar material. Forest biomass has the potential for use in countless different applications including but not limited to generating heat, production of liquid fuel, production of biogas, generating bioelectricity, and production of feedstock for chemicals and other materials.
Some forestry companies have experimented with interplanting regenerating lignocellulosic energy crops with various types of trees crops for producing forest biomass. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,412,932, the contents of which is hereby incorporated by reference. As the demand for alternative energy sources continues to increase, there is also an increasing demand for new and innovative methods and equipment for producing forest biomass in conjunction with timberlands. Conventional agriculture equipment and methods are often not appropriate for the rough terrain (e.g., humps and swales), stumps, sticks, and other debris encountered in forestry operations. At the same time, the demands of modern forestry require that timberlands be managed at intense levels so as to produce maximum growth in the shortest period of time. Many of these intense practices can have a negative impact on soil, water quality, and greenhouse gas emissions. Accordingly, there is a need to develop new silviculture practices to enable growth of energy crops in conjunction with other crops whilst minimizing negative impacts on the environment.